Pad for shoe holding machines



June 5, 1934. e. LAGANAS 1,961,884

PAD FOR SHOE HOLDING MACHINES Filed Jan. 21, 1935 5Q 57 a 11/0 (wt bow6280778 Lafamzs Patented June 5, 1934 n ,UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE IADFOR SHOE HOLDING MACHINES George Laganas, Lowell, Mass.

Application January 21, 1933, Serial No. 652,909

8 Claims. (01. 12-123) This invention relates to a shoe leveling,shapform its function fully but will not mar 01' deface ing and solesecuring machine, and more particuthe finished surface of the materialfrom which larly has reference to an improved construction the shoe ismade. for clamping a shoe on a pressing element during One of theobjects of this invention is therefore i the time that one or more suchoperations are to provide an improved clamping means for holdbeingperformed on it. ing a shoe and last firmly in position against aPreviously, shoes have been leveled, and shaped sole leveling, shapingand securing element of the and soles secured thereto by Various means,intype under discussion. cluding the use of a pneumatic pressing elementAnother object of this invention is to provide a 0 having a flexiblewall to fit against the bottom clamping means for the purpose set forthwith a part of the shoe while the shoe is on a last. The portion adaptedto contact with the finished surshoe and last are held against thisflexible wall face of the shoe and hold it firmly and positively and airpressure is admitted to the element thus in position without danger ofmarring or deforcing the flexible wall tightly against the botfacing it.

15 tom of the shoe and leveling and shaping the shoe Other objects andadvantages will become against the last. Similarly pressure has beenapapparent from the following description taken plied against the solesof shoes to hold them in in connection with the accompanying drawing,place after the soles have been applied to the it being distinctlyunderstood that the same are shoes by means of cement or other likematerial. by way of illustration and example only and are 20 It has beennecessary to make one wall of the not to be taken as in any way limitingthe spirit pressing element of rigid material such as cast or scope ofthis invention. The spirit and scope iron so that it can be attached tothe machine of this invention are to be limited only by the or othersupport upon which it is to be placed. prior art and by the terms of theappended claims. This attachment must be rigid in order that theReferring now more particularly to the draw- 5 pressing element may havea proper and positive ing in which like numerals indicate correspond- 8Qbacking or foundation. The other wall of the ing parts throughout:pressing element must however be flexible in order Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a unit embodying that air pressure within the element mightforce this invention mounted on a Supporting means, this other wallagainst the bottom of the shoe to the latter being shown in section.

30 perform the function for which the element is Figure 2 isaperspective view illustrating aporintended. When these two elementshave been tion of the clamping means. secured together all around theiredges there is Figure 3 is a vertical section through the eleformedbetween the walls an air chamber which ment illustrated in Figure 2. isadapted to receive the air under pressure for Figure 4 is a side View ofthe element illus- 35 the purpose of inflating the unit and enabling ittrated in Figures 2 and 3, some of the parts being to do its work. shownin section.

It has been customary in connection with this Referring first to Figure1, there is shown a type of a device, to provide a clamping means forunit of the type referred to embodying this inholding the shoe and lastagainst the flexible wall vention, the same being mounted on a pair of49 while air pressure is admitted to the element for hollow supportmembers 1 and 2. Forming a 9.5 the purpose of forcing the flexible walltightly base for the pressing unit proper is a member 3 against thebottom of the shoe and leveling and which is preferably formed of castiron or some shaping the shoe against the last. In the past, similarmaterial, and is provided adjacent one this clamping element orarrangement has been end with a transverse opening for the purposeprovided with a portion adapted to contact with of receiving the hollowmember 2. Adjacent the the last at a point above the heel of the shoe,and other end of the member 3 it is provided with a with a secondportion adapted to contact with the semi-circular bearing portion 4adapted to retoe of the shoe for the purpose of holding the ceive thehollow support member 1. The support toe portion of the last inposition. As will be member 1 is then held in position within the Qappreciated, shoes in general are made of leather semi-circular portion4 by means of a cap memor other similar covering having its outersurface her 5 secured to the portion 4 by means of cap finished, and itis therefore necessary that the screws 6 extending through openings inthe ears portion which is adapted to press against the toe '7 of the capmember 5 and being threaded into of the shoe be very carefullyconstructed in such tapped holes in the member 3.

5. a. manner and of such material that it will per- On the upper side ofthe porti n 4 there is 1 down therein.

formed a hooked shaped projection 8 extending toward the opposite end ofthe member 3 and substantially parallel thereto.

At the opposite end of the member 3, there is provided a dependingportion 9 located directly below the hollow support member 2, and havingan opening therethrough for receiving the shaft 10 on which are mountedthe arms 11.

This opposite end of the member 3 is also provided with a portionadapted to form one part of the valve mechanism for controlling the airsupply to the unit, and to receive and support the other part of thisvalve mechanism.

Mounted on top of the member 3 and having a hook 12 engaging the hook 8on the member 3 is the rigid cup-shaped wall 13 which goes to form thelower part of the pneumatically operated pressing unit. As previouslymentioned, such parts of the member 13 are usually made of cast iron orsome similar material. The rigid wall member 13 is supported at one endon the hook 8 as shown in Figure 1, and is supported on its opposite endon an abutment 14 which rests against a cut away portion 15 near theopposite end of the member 3.

Secured to the upper side of the member 15 by any suitable means is theflexible wall 16 of the pressing unit, the same being adapted to expandand press against the bottom of the shoe 17 when the shoe is in place onthe last 18 and is securely clamped down in a manner to be presentlydescribed.

The clamping means just referred to consists in general of an arm 19securely mounted on the hollow support member 1 and adjustably clampedthereto by means of a cap member 20 and cap screws 21. This arm 19 ismounted on the hollow support member adjacent the member 3 on one sidethereof, and another arm 19 which is in effect exactly the same as thearm just described is mounted on the opposite side of the member 3. Attheir upper ends, the arms 19 are each provided with bearings forreceiving the pins 22 which project in opposite directions from each ofa pair of spaced ears 23 on the housing member 24 to pivotally mount thesame. The housing member 24 is arranged on its inner surfaces to providea vertical slide way for the purpose of receiving a corresponding slideon the beam 25 and allowing the beam 25 to slide up or As has beenstated, the ears 23 on the housing member 24 are spaced from each otherso that the beam 25 may pass between them. For the purpose of adjustingthe vertical position of the beam 25 within the housing men ber 24,there is provided a threaded member 26 adapted to pass into the housingmember 24 and to cooperate with the beam 25 to position it in whateververtical position may be desired. The beam 25 is extended from thehousing past the ears 23 in the manner just described, and is providedat its extremity with a plurality of openings 27 adapted to receive theends of springs 28 for the purpose of resiliently holding in itslowermost position this end of the beam 25. The lower ends of thesprings 28 are secured to the eyelets 29 provided on the cap member 5for that purpose.

In order to facilitate the description, the ends of the beam 25 to whichthe springs 28 are attached will be hereinafter referred to as the rearend of the beam, and the opposite end will be referred to as the forwardend of the beam.

The beam 25 is enlarged at the forward end thereof as indicated at 30for the purpose of providing for the rectangular opening 31 extendingtransversely of the beam. Extending transversely through the opening 31,and vertically slidable therein is a cross beam 32, its verticalposition within the opening 31 being determined by an adjustable member33 extending through the top of the enlarged portion 36 into the opening31 and engaging the beam 32 in much the same manner that the adjustabledevice indicated at 26 engages the beam 25.

At the opposite ends of the cross beam 32 there are pivotally connecteda pair of links 34 which extend downwardly from the beam 32 to the arms11, and are pivotally connected thereto as at 35. These links 34 arecurved at a position opposite the shaft 10 so that when the arms 11 areswung about the shaft 10 to their lowermost positions they may swingpast their center position to a small degree and the links 34 will havetheir bent portions 36 in engagement with the shaft 10.

It will be apparent that when the parts are in the position justdescribed the beam 25 will be locked with its forward end down, andcannot be raised until the arms 11 are first pushed toward the rear. Itwill be noted at this point that the arms 11 are connected to each otherby means of a web or some other suitable arrangement 3'7, and. that thisarrangement carries an abutment 33 which is adapted when the arms 11 arefirst pushed rearwardly to release the beam 25 to come into engagementwith the rubber bumper 39 provided for that purpose on the under surfaceof the member 3.

Going back now to the description of the beam 25, it is noted that thisbeam is provided at a point substantially at its forward end with adownwardly extending lug 40, and is provided with another similardownwardly extending lug 41 at a point adjacent the housing member 24.These two downwardly extending lugs have openings therethrough adaptedto journal the ends of a threaded shaft 42 having a crank 43 at itsforward end by which it may be turned. As will be noted, the forward endof the shaft 42 is provided with one set of threads 44, and the rearwardportion of this shaft is provided with another set of threads 45, thetwo sets of threads 44 and 45 being left hand and right hand threadsrespectively.

Surrounding the shaft 42 and in threaded engagement with the threadedportion 44, is a block or abutment 46 which is adapted to engage aprojecting portion on the last 18 within the shoe 17, and press the saidlast against the flexible wall 16 of the pressing unit.

Surrounding the shaft 42 and in threaded engagement with the threadedportion 45, is a second block 47. This block 47 is slotted to receive apad element 48, which in turn is adapted to press against the toeportion of the shoe 1'7 and hold the said toe portion of the shoe andthe last against the flexible wall 16 of the pressing unit. The member48 may be secured to the block 4'? by any suitable means such as the key49. As will be appreciated from a study of Figures 2, 3 and 4, the key49 is adapted to fit into the key way 50 in the member 48, and into acomplementary key way in the block 47.

The member 48 forms the shank for the novel clamping pad forming thesubject matter of this invention. Formed integrally with the shankportion 48, and extending from one side 'thereof is a web 51, to theopposite edge of which is inte- 'grally joined a substantially flatcross member 52. This cross member 52 is slightly longer and somewhatwider than the shank 48, and has its external surface slightlycylindrical as shown at 53. Substantially at the center of the member52, and on the external face thereof there is formed a secondcylindrical surface 54 intersecting the cylindrical surface 53. It willbe noted that both of these surfaces 53 and 54 'are substantiallycylindrical, but that the surface 53 is convex whereas the surface 54 isconcave. The upper surface of the member 52 is cut away adjacent eachedge for the purpose of receiving and positioning the flexible strips 56and 57 respectively. The web 51 is cut away at 58 and 59 respectivelyfor the purpose of receiving the bolts 60 and 61 which are adapted tohold the flexible members 56 and 57 in proper position and clamp them onthe flat cross member 52. In practice, the outer flexible strip 57 ismade of leather having a smooth outer surface so that it will not marthe finish on the toe of the shoe. A very satisfactory material for thisflexible member has been found to be the product commonly known aspatent leather, because of the fact that the surface of such leather isvery smooth and very unlikely to injure the finish on the shoe. Theflexible member 56 is composed of a cushioning material such as gumrubber whereby a small degree of resiliency will be given to the outersurface of the member 57 which presses against the toe of the shoe. Inaddition to the members 56 and 5'7, a strip 57a is provided which may beformed of rubber having a substantial amount of fabric reinforcementembedded in it. Because of the fabric reinforcement, this member 57a issomewhat stiffer than either the member 57 or 56, but it is flexibleenough to permit it to be pushed in toward the concave cylindricalsurface 54 of the cross member 52. As seen from Figure 3, this member57a does not pass entirely around the cross member 52 as do the members56 and 57; but instead it engages only the outer face of the member 52.It is held against this outer face by the members 56 and 57respectively. In order that the members 56 and 57 may be clamped aboutthe cross member 52 in such a manner that they will not tear out andcome off, the end portions of the member 57 are doubled inwardly uponthemselves so as to form a double thickness at 62 adjacent the line ofattachment. After the member 57 has been doubled over at 62 as justdescribed, holes are punched through the doubled over portions 62 andthrough the end portions of the member 56 for the purpose of receivingthe bolts 60 and 61 as previously described. The holes which are punchedin the doubled over portions 62 of the member 57 are then provided withmetal or other suitable reinforcing eyelets 63. In order to stillfurther guard against any tearing out of these parts, a bar 64 of metalis provided for the purpose of engaging each of the doubled over endportions 62, each of these bars being formed with holes corresponding tothe holes which have been punched in the flexible members for thepurpose of receiving the bolts 60 and 61.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the operation of the structurethat has been described will be clearly apparent. The last 18 is firstplaced within the shoe 1'7 in the ordinary manner, and the shoe 17 isproperly positioned on the flexible wall 16. The blocks 46 and 4'7 arethen adjusted so that they will lie directly above the heel portion ofthe last and the toe portion of the shoe respectively. The adjustablemembers 26 and 33 are manipulated to adjust the height of the block 46and the pad for engaging the toe of the shoe so that when the beam 25 ispulled downwardly the shoe will be clamped down in its proper position.The beam 25 is then pulled down until the links 34 swing the arms 11about the shaft 10 to a point where the bent portions 36 of the linkscome in contact with the shaft 10. It will then be seen that the arms 11will be swung past the center of the shaft 10, and the beam 25 will belocked downwardly in clamping position. The pressing element composed ofthe members 13 and 16 is then inflated by means of the valve 65 providedon the member 3 for that purpose. This valve as will be seen is operatedby means of a handle 66. After the pressing operation is complete, thearms 11 are pushed rearwardly so as to allow the links 34 to moveupwardly and release the clamping means 46 and 47 from the shoe andlast, after which the shoe and last may be removed.

When the clamping member carrying the toe pad is brought down, thesmooth surface of the member 57 engages the toe of the shoe within whichis positioned the toe of the last. Upon further downward movement, thestrip 56 is compressed thus serving to press the toe of the shoe tightlyagainst the flexible member 16. At the same time, the member 57a isallowed to flex so that its center portion will sink into the centraldepression left by the cutting away of the cylindrical portion 54, andwill form a slightly rounded surface for engaging the toe of the shoe.

Thus, it will be seen that a member has been provided for engaging thetoe of the shoe and clamping the shoe and last against a shapingelement, which member will not mar or deface the finished surface of thetoe of the shoe, but will instead have a slight cushioning effect toresiliently force the toe of the shoe to its proper position, and willat the same time assume a slightly concave shape so as to rest on thetoe of the shoe substantially all the way across the toe instead of onlyat its center. The toe of the shoe is therefore clamped in its properposition and in an entirely satisfactory manner without any danger ofmarring or harming its finished surface. The pad member which has beenformed will cooperate with the other portions of the device describedfor the purpose of carrying out the functions and objects of the same inthe most efficient manner. Also, it will be noted that this pad elementis removable for the purpose of being exchanged with other elements ofdifferent sizes to accommodate different types of shoes, as well as forthe purpose of being removed to replace the flexible elements 56, 57 and57a. The flexible elements 56, 5'7 and 57a, are on the other handmounted on the shank 48 in such a manner that they will be least likelyto be torn out, thus lengthening the life of these flexible members to avery substantial degree.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a strong hard base having a shank portion, an intermediateweb portion, and an enlarged terminal portion, a relatively soft smoothcovering around said enlarged terminal portion adapted to contact thefinished surface of the toe of the shoe, said enlarged terminal portionhaving a portion of its outer surface hollowed out to form a concaveseat to receive the toe of the shoe, and a relatively stiff resilientmember between said covering and said concave seat, and resilientlyspaced from said concave seat when not clamped against a shoe.

2. In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a strong hard base having a shank portion, an intermediateweb portion, and an enlarged terminal portion, said enlarged terminalportion having a portion of its outer surface hollowed out to form aconcave seat to receive the toe of the shoe, a relatively stiffresilient member over said hollowed out portion, a relatively softresilient covering around said enlarged terminal portion and saidrelatively stiff resilient member, and a pliable smooth covering aroundsaid resilient covering and adapted to contact the finished outersurface of the shoe.

3. In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a metal base having a shank portion, an intermediate Webportion, and an enlarged terminal portion, sm'd enlarged terminalportion having a portion of its outer surface hollowed out to form aconcave seat to receive the toe of the shoe, a relatively stiffrubberized fabric member over said hollowed out portion, a relativelysoft gum rubber covering around said enlarged terminal portion and saidrubberized fabric member, and a patent leather covering around said gumrubber covering and adapted to contact the finished outer surface of theshoe.

4. In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a strong hard base having a shank portion, a reducedintermediate web portion, and an enlarged terminal portion, a relativelysoft smooth covering around said enlarged terminal portion adapted tocon tact the finished outer surface of the shoe, said covering havingits ends disposed on opposite sides of said Web portion, and meansextending past said reduced intermediate web portion and securing saidends in such position to retain the covering on the base.

5. In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a strong hard base having a shank portion, a reducedintermediate web portion, and an enlarged terminal portion, a relativelysoft smooth covering around said enlarged terminal portion adapted tocontact the finished outer surface of the shoe, said covering having itsends disposed on opposite sides of said Web portion, and means extendingon opposite sides of said reduced intermediate web portion and securingsaid ends together to retain the covering on the base.

6, In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a strong hard base having a shank portion, an intermediateweb portion, and an enlarged terminal portion, a soft resilient coveringaround said enlarged terminal portion, a pliable smooth covering aroundsaid resilient covering and adapted to contact the finished outersurface of the shoe, said pliable smooth covering having its endsdisposed on opposite sides of said web portion and folded over so as toform double thickness portions at each end, and means securing saiddouble thickness portionsin such position.

'7. In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a strong hard base having a shank portion, an intermediateweb portion, and an enlarged terminal portion, a soft resilient coveringaround said enlarged terminal portion, a pliable smooth covering aroundsaid resilient covering and adapted to contact the finished outersurface of the shoe, said pliable smooth covering having its endsdisposed on opposite sides of said web portion and folded over so as toform double thickness portions at each end, said double thicknessportions having perforations therethrough, reinforcing means surroundingsaid perforations, and means extending through said perforations andsaid reinforcing means for securing said double thickness portions insuch position.

8. In a device of the character described, a shoe abutting membercomprising a strong hard base having a shank portion, an intermediateweb portion, and an enlarged terminal portion a soft resilient coveringaround said enlarged terminal portion, a pliable smooth covering aroundsaid resilient covering and adapted to contact the finished outersurface of the shoe, said pliable smooth covering having its endsdisposed on opposite sides of said web portion and folded over so as toform double thickness portions at each end, said double thicknessportions having perforations therethrough, reinforcing means surroundingeach of said perforations, other reinforcing means surrounding andextending between said perforations on each end of the pliable smoothcovering, and means extending through said perforations and saidreinforcing means for securing said double thickness portions in suchposition.

GEORGE LAGANAS.

